Until We Break
by himabindu97
Summary: What would you do to protect yourself from an imminent danger? Especially when it has already striked you before and will break you if it strikes again. What would you do to keep yourself from falling apart?
1. Chapter 1

**I DO NOT OWN GHOST HUNT.**

 **Hey guys! Another story up. I will try updating it at regular intervals and i will also try completing this one. Thank you for your patience.**

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"...coping with the...", what did it take for her to get out of the room? What are the sequence of events that has lead to this particular situation?

"How has your...", What was this extremely depressing feeling that she was experiencing? All the questions that are directed at her seem so irrelevant and silly. What would they achieve? Or rather, what would they conclude?

"...enough sleep?" People are really stupid, everybody needs sleep. But not her. For her, sleep was like her paycheck. The more she wanted, the less she would get. She never understood why. Maybe she asked for too much, but she has always felt that whatever she wished for were entirely normal. Way too normal. She wished for a roof over her head, a decent meal, to go to school, a decent job and she got what she wanted. Maybe this made her greedy. She started wishing for friends, a family and-

"...Oliver Davis?" She let out a long breath. Of course it was Oliver Davis. And this is where, my friends, Mai Taniyama has reached the peaks of her greediness. What a joke. She would have laughed her head off if only she had the strength for it.

"Can you recall the events which took place that day, Taniyama-san?" Wasn't he asking her about her sleep just a minute ago? Or was it the doctor? She didn't know when the doctor left. This man was tall, had a grey coat on. It matched with his greying hair. Just like her head master. But her head master had kind brown eyes. This man had eyes as cold as ice.

"Do you remember anything at all, Taniyama-san?" His voice came out a wee bit annoyed. She could tell. Most people couldn't. But she could. She was always this way. She could notice the tiniest of details of anything. She was especially good with people's emotions.

"She is still a bit disoriented Ito-san. You should come back later." A stern female's voice said from somewhere behind him. It wasn't a request.  
For a moment, it looked like Ito-san wanted to disagree but decided against it. He turned back again to look at Mai who was lying on the bed, as if assessing her.

"I apologize for troubling you when you are in your current state Taniyama-san. I will come back when you are feeling better." With that, Ito-san left.

"Mai." The lady who shooed away Ito-san not so politely, touched Mai's hand. Pink hair. Her touch was warm. Mai missed it. Madoka was like fire and ice. She scared people and made them feel better at the same time.

"Anything that you can remember? Can you tell me your name?" She asked with a worried expression.

"Mai." She simply answered. She started to look around the room as if she remembered something.

"Where is Naru? Where are the others?" Mai asked Madoka. Come to think of it, none of them were with her. Not even Ayako. And it was rare to see Madoka in the hospital room with her.

Madoka bit her lip. She didn't ask a very difficult question.

"The others are fine Mai..." Madoka replied. Well, it was half a reply. It was clearly visible on Madoka's face that she didn't want to answer the first question. she was going to try again. Ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach, Mai asked again.

"Where is Na-", before she could complete her question Madoka answered her.

"Missing."

"...What?"

"Naru is missing Mai." As soon as Madoka uttered those words, the events of 'that' day started to play like a movie flashback in her mind.

Three words. One question. One mistake. One object. One tragedy.

What has she done?

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 _ **15/05/2018, Tuesday.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**I DO NOT OWN GHOST HUNT.**

 **Hey guys! 2nd chapter up. I'm still unsure about the plot, so if I'm dragging it too much just let me know. Much Love!**

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"Naru...Naru, I need to sit for a few minutes..." Mai managed to say in between huffing and puffing. He has been dragging her through the awful forest for more than an hour. Her feet hurt. Terribly.

"Naru...please...", She tried again.

"If only you wouldn't have run off on your own again, you wouldn't have had to whine like this." Naru snapped, turning to look at her. There it was, the scolding. And she was wondering why he was being so quite all this time. Mai started to fidget with her t-shirt, not being able to meet his eye. He suddenly grabbed her by her shoulders.

"What does it take for you to understand that putting yourself in danger every single time is not the solution?" Naru seethed. This shocked Mai. She knew that he was upset, but she didn't think that it would make him this furious. She shouldn't have run into the woods like that, but she thought she heard a child cry.

"I thought i heard a child cry." She supplied weakly. Naru let her go with a sigh. Instead of resuming their journey, he just sat down, leaning against a tree. It has been two hours since they got lost. They were exhausted. Mai also sat down beside him. She only hoped that the others would find her before it gets dark. Mai looked at her boss. His head was bowed and his eyes seem to be closed.

"Naru." He didn't respond. Well, she didn't expect him to. It was her fault that they got lost.

"I'm sorry...", She said, almost pleadingly. She didn't want him to stay upset with her any longer. Even yelling would do. She always worried everybody around her. She always worried him. Naru sighed again and lifted his head up.

"Promise me Mai, promise me that you would use your head to properly think before putting yourself in danger." Naru asked her with a stern look. There was only a yes or a no. No middle ground. Mai just cannot help it. It naturally comes to her to jump into action when somebody is in danger. She can't use her head.

"But-", She started, but she was cut off.

"There is no 'BUT' Mai. It is a simple concept." Naru said, frustrated.

"You need to think. What if you would have injured yourself or worse. I can't take anymore guilt than what I already have." He said without thinking and immediately regretted it. As Mai processed his words, she looked hurt. Really hurt. Tears started to form in her eyes and now she was just plain angry.

"Sorry to be such a burden. I can take care of myself!" She spat, getting up. When she tried to walk away to god-knows-where, Naru grabbed her hand.

"Mai, what did i just tell you about using your head?" The nerve he had to talk to her like that! Mai's left eye twitched.

"Go satisfy your ego else where, you jerk and LET GO!" She yelled at him.

"You had absolutely no problem in saving Masako whenever she was in danger. Where was all that talk about guilt then? If I'm such a pain then just freaking fire me! I don't have to work with a narcissistic jerk who just can't take a hint. It is always about your tea or about fili-", She was interrupted in between her rambling.

"Take a hint about what?" He asked with his eyebrow raised.

"What?" Mai was taken aback. This situation is so ridiculous. And she wanted nothing but to get back to the base. Far away from this jerk.

"Naru, just leave it. Let go so that we can walk back." But he wouldn't let her go. He just kept staring at her. His eyes were calculating but they seemed a bit hurt?

"Me or Gene?" Naru asked as he let her hand go. As soon as he asked that question, the right side of his face stung. Tears kept flowing down Mai's face as she bit her lip from yelling at him.

"Such a coward Naru...you are such a coward!" Mai managed to say between hiccups. Before Naru had the chance to say anything, something in the distance moved.

Bright light shone onto Mai's face as somebody pulled back the curtains. What a dream. And she had to dream it now of all days. It was too painful to even think about it. Warm hands brushed her hair away from her eyes.

"How are you feeling Mai?" Ayako asked, seating herself beside Mai's bed. Mai felt like it has been forever since she saw Ayako or the others.

"Better." Mai replied, managing a small smile. "That looks painful." Mai commented, gesturing towards Ayako's broken arm. Ayako gave a sad smile.

"It's nothing compared to what we all lost for the duration of this case." A lump formed in Mai's throat. She wanted to apologize but she couldn't say a word.

"Ayako, we have to go back to that house." Ayako face became as white as a sheet.

"Mai...stop it. It's suicide. Without Naru, we are all in the dark!"

"And that is why we need to bring him back, Ayako. We need to solve this bloody case. For everyone, especially for you!" This made Ayako even more sorrowful.

"What is lost is lost Mai. Naru wouldn't have wanted you to go back. Not for me. Not even for him. I think it's best to leave it here and let the police do their job." They were already referring to him in past tense.

"But...he is still there, A-Ayako. I-I know he is still there..." Mai started to cry. What she wouldn't do to just see him one more time?

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 _ **18/05/2018, Friday.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**I DO NOT OWN GHOST HUNT!**

 **Hey Guys! Third chapter up. I hope, so far it is interesting enough.**

 **NOTE: _Mai hasn't confessed to Naru when he found Gene's body. And they both are around 20-something in my fanfic. These details might or might not be included in the story, so I put it for your information if you guys get confused along the way._**

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Naru was met by darkness when he opened his eyes. He couldn't make out where he was or why he was there. All he could register at the moment was the dull aching through out his whole body. His body felt like a log. When he tried to lift himself up from the ground, he felt an excruciating pain on the left side of his abdomen and fell back onto the ground. His upper torso was bare. Sharp, small particles pricked his skin.

" _Fuck!_ " He cursed. He totally forgot about the stab wound. When he tried to touch it though, he felt a fabric wrapped around his abdomen.

"Don't force yourself. You will only make it worse. I barely managed to stop the bleeding." He heard a female voice say, probably standing in front of him. He couldn't make out who because his eyes were taking their time to adjust to the darkness.

"Which one are you?" He questioned the source of the female voice. He heard movement beside him before he heard an answer. The voice was much closer this time.

"Which one do you think?" The voice questioned back. Naru was by no means a medium, but he could tell that the person beside him was possessed. Because the hair on his hand were standing on their ends. Ignoring the throbbing pain of his stabbed abdomen, he sat up, thankful that there was something solid for him to lean back on. Even through the darkness, he could see bright green eyes staring back at him, waiting for him to answer.

"Why did you take me?" Naru questioned again.

"Why you ask?" She said in mock contemplation. Naru felt a cold finger touch his left shoulder joint. The ice cold finger traced a certain pattern on his shoulder.

"Because you know my pain. You understand it. You survived it." She said, repeatedly tracing the pattern on his shoulder. Naru swallowed, fear starting to take hold of his messed up brain.

"You fought it. And I want to do the same." She said. The scar on Naru's shoulder started to throb. His head hurt. He felt as if somebody was splitting it open with a hammer. He could see and hear fragments of a memory which he never wanted to bring back out.

"I-It's okay EC. He will pass. We have to stay s-still." He heard his brother whisper shakily as they both held each other inside a small locker. Their small hands gripped each other as if something outside the locked would tear them apart if they let go. When a shadow passed by, EC almost screamed. But his brother stifled his scream by placing his hand over his brother's mouth. Too late. The shadow stopped moving. The brothers held their breaths. Suddenly the locker door flung open and a shadow loomed over the twins.

"You have been bad, bad boys." The shadow rasped, giving a warped smile.

 ** _19/05/2000, FRIDAY._**

 ** _National Police Agency, Tokyo._**

Hirota knocked before opening the door to his colleague's cabin. "Ito-san, you wanted to see me?" The tall, old man was studying a file before Hirota came in.

"Hirota-kun, Morning. Please take a seat." Ito-san said, gesturing towards an empty chair. As Hirota seated himself, Ito-san spread out a few files on the desk. Hirota pulled a file towards him and his eyes widened in shock.

"I believe you met these people before?" Ito-san questioned, reading Hirota's bewildered expression. The file Hirota held had the name 'SHIBUYA KAZUYA' on it.

"He and his team went to investigate a supposedly 'haunted' house, Which resulted in a death and two missing persons. Two of his team members have been severely injured and are being treated in a hospital. As for the people who have been missing...", he pushed one more file towards Hirota. It read, 'NAKAMURA MEGUMI'. She was a girl with straight black hair and green eyes. She seemed to be around fifteen years old.

"Shibuya and the girl have been missing the same day her step dad fell down the stairs and broke his neck, two days ago." Ito-san informed, leaning back in his seat. Hirota kept staring at Shibuya's file. How can that Narcissistic brat, who knew damn well what he was doing, go missing?

"Who were the other two who were injured?" Hirota asked.

"His assistant, a-..what was her name again?" Ito-san leaned forward to check a file, "yes, Taniyama Mai broke a few ribs falling down the same stairs the step father fell from and Takigawa Ayako..." Ito-san clears his throat, "lost a child." Hirota winced. Too much tragedy. It meant that the team messed up big time.

"Ito-san, where do I fit in all this?" Hirota questioned. Hirota has known Ito Hisato for as long as he worked for the police. A man with an impeccable reputation. His detective skills were top notch. Every case he took up never went unsolved. A man who thought that the supernatural was nothing but trash. What a shame. Ito-san is going to have one hell of a time solving this one.

"You tell me." Ito-san said, leaning forward onto his desk. It then dawned on Hirota.

"You don't actually think that Shibuya-san did all this?" The young president was a brat with bad manners and everything but he wouldn't kill anybody. At least not without a solid reason. But he couldn't blame Ito-san. Any sane detective would arrive at the same conclusion Ito-san did given the circumstances.

"You spent a considerable amount of time with the group, probably you would know a thing or two." Oh, he knew more than he wanted to.

"I assure you Ito-san, Shibuya-san has no reason to hurt anyone and most certainly not his own employees." Hirota-san was sure that the young president respected his team very much even though he kept ordering them around and he had a certain soft spot for his assistant. As a side note he added, "They are almost like a family." Ito-san looked at him like Hirota had just grown two heads but finally laughed.

"Seems like you like them." If that's how Ito-san wanted to put it. A lady knocked, before opening the door. "Ito-san, a Koujo Lin has come to meet you." The lady informed.

"I will be with him in a minute." Ito-san said before getting up. The lady nodded and closed the door behind her.

"Ito-san, can I tag along with you for the duration of this investigation?" Hirota asked, as Ito-san was about to leave. Ito-san considered it for a moment, while drumming the door knob with a finger.

"Be my guest." Ito-san said, opening the door and leaving behind a very confused Hirota. Oh well, this is going to be a messed up case.

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 _ **21/05/2018, Monday.**_


	4. Chapter 4

**I DO NOT OWN GHOST HUNT!**

 **Hey guys! Fourth chapter up. Enjoy and please review.**

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Hirota held a pen and a notepad and was sat in a chair beside Mai's bed. John stood beside Mai, holding her hand as if to comfort her. Lin seated himself near the window, ready with his laptop.

"Mai-san, can you tell me when all this started?" Hirota-san questioned. Mai had a far away look in her eyes as she struggled to remember the details.

 ** _Flashback_**

 ** _SPR Office, Shibuya._**

 ** _5/05/2018_**

Naru's eye twitched as he flipped another page of the book he was reading. What did he have to do to get some peace? Mai has been making annoying sounds with chocolate wrappers, sitting in front of him. God knows how many of those chocolates she had had. Naru lowered his book and glared at her, to which she was oblivious of course. She was much more involved in making her chocolate wrapper dolls stand than the homework that needed her attention. Another crinkling sound. Anymore of that and Naru would flip.

"Mai." Naru called, with an annoyed tone.

"Mmm.." Mai responded, too much involved in her creation to look up.

"I thought you had a test on the 12th, which you wanted to study for." He informed. Not enough to make Mai look at him.

"Which 12th?" She asked nonchalantly, eating another chocolate and increasing her wrapper man population. Naru was going to pop a vein.

"How many twelves are there in a month Mai?" Naru asked, clearly irritated. His tone was enough to make Mai look at him.

"What?" She asked, chewing her chocolate.

"What are you doing?" Naru asked to which Mai gave a nervous laugh.

"Studying?" Mai supplied, nervously. Naru raised an eyebrow.

"With the chocolate wrappers?" Naru asked. Mai gave up, and folded her hands in frustration.

"Okay! I can't concentrate anymore. It's making my head hurt Naru!" Mai whined. Naru couldn't help but be surprised by her short attention span when it came to her studies. And Mai being over dramatic about it amused him. He would never grow tired of it. Well, it's not like she did bad in any of her college exams.

"Mai." Naru looked at her seriously. He looked like he was ready to lecture her. " Do me and yourself a favour and grow some brain cells." This made her cheeks go red with anger. Before she could hurl abuses at him, he placed an empty cup in front of her.

"Tea." He demanded before getting back to his reading. Mai grabbed the cup and stomped out of the room all the while grumbling about 'Stupid Teas' and 'Narcissistic Bosses'. Naru chuckled.

Just as Mai was about to boil the water, she heard the main door open. She internally did a happy dance. When she went to greet the client, she was met by a very tired looking woman. The woman was probably in her late thirties, long jet black hair, brown eyes. She had terrible dark circles under her eyes.

"Good Afternoon! How can I help you?" Mai greeted her as cheerfully as she can.

"I heard that you deal with...the supernatural?" The woman asked with uncertainty. Mai smiled. They got a lot of that.

"Yes, you have come to the right place. May I know your name?" Mai asked.

"Nakamura Nami." The woman said, bowing.

"Nakamura-san, Shibuya-san will be with you in a minute. Please take a seat. Would you like to have some tea?" Mai asked, smiling. Nakamura-san seemed to be a bit at ease.

"Sure." Mai left the woman to go inform first Naru and then Lin. She prepared tea for three people as Naru and Lin both seated themselves to listen to her story.

"How can we help you Nakamura-san?" Naru asked. Holding her tea cup, Nakamura-san seemed uncertain. Mai can see that she was uncomfortable and had her doubts. After all, not everybody are plagued by the supernatural on a daily basis.

"My daughter, ever since we moved into my childhood home, she has been acting...strange." The woman said, frowning.

"By stanger you mean, how?" Naru questioned.

"At first, it was just screaming in the middle of the night. It then eventually escalated to screaming out in terror or pain whenever she falls asleep. One day I found her eating mud in the garden. When my husband tried to stop her, she bit him." Nakamura-san said.

"How old is your daughter, Nakamura-san?" Naru enquired.

"She turned fifteen last month." Naru seemed thoughtful for a moment.

"Has she had any trouble at school? Or with her classmates? She might be stressed." Naru suggested. Nakamura-san hesitated before answering him.

"She has not been attending school for six months." She informed.

"Before we moved into my childhood home, my daughter was bullied in her old school. She was depressed for a long time. But she was able to cope with it because she was very close to her father. Until he passed away two years ago." Nakamura-san said, her voice slightly cracking. Mai felt sorry for the woman.

"I got married again but I knew that she didn't like her step dad. She never actually came and told me. I had to work and I had very little time to spend with her. We moved in with my dad a year ago. She was doing fine for a week. But after that the screaming started." Nakamura-san said.

"And what makes you think it is related to the supernatural? It just seems to me like she is just troubled." Naru said. Mai winced. Delicacy was never Naru's forte. Lin coughed lightly, like Naru would suddenly become sensitive because of that.

"No, I understand. It's not just that Shibuya-san." Nakamura-san stopped for a moment to think. "She would sometimes behave like it's not her who is talking or rather, behaving. I was sick this one day..." Nakamura-san paused, as she struggled with tears.

"And she cooked for me. She can't cook. Nobody helped her. I was buring because of the fever and my memory is a bit fussy, but I remember her feeding me that day, l-like...she was telling me how the fever was going to come down and how we can go playing again." By this time, tears were rolling down Nakamura-san's cheeks. Mai placed a comforting hand on the crying woman's shoulder. Naru pushed forward a tissue box from which the woman gladly took a tissue from.

"Sometimes she acts like she is only a small child, following me around, holding onto me and a stuffed toy. She would ask to be carried around. It was fine during the day. At night, we would scream and scream until she lost her voice and she wouldn't let anybody touch her except me. She would cry that it was hurting but she wouldn't tell me where. I took her to so many doctors, used so many medications but it only got worse." Nakamura-san said, as another tear rolled down her cheek. Naru slightly leaned forward. Mai gulped. How much more worse can it get.

"What do you mean?" Naru questioned.

"She started to cut herself. Wrist, stomach...she tried to commit suicide." Mai gasped.

"We restrained her. We gave her sleeping pills hoping that it would calm her down. And it did help a little. Not with the screaming but atleast she stopped harming herself." Nakamura-san bit her lip. Naru understood what she was trying to tell her, but still he was missing something. He needed more to go on.

"That still doesn't explain why you are here, Nakamura-san." Naru said, seriously. Lin stopped typing and looked up.

"There was this one particular episode, where she started to scream and cry in the night. I was trying to hold her down and we had to put her to sleep. When my husband tried to hold her down, she just pushed him back with one hand and he flew across the room. She called him 'Filth' and told him not to touch her. It didn't sound like Megumi was saying all that." Bingo, Mai thought. Naru seemed to comtemplate about the last bit of information.

"We will help you Nakamura-san. Please prepare to have my team. Leave your address and phone number with my assistant. We will be starting tomorrow. We would need a room to set up all the equipment." Naru informed. Nakamura-san seemed so relieved.

"T-Thank you Shibuya-san." She thanked. Naru gave a slight nod and left the room and Lin followed after Naru into his office and closed the door behind them. Naru sighed.

"What do you want, Lin?" Naru asked, putting on his coat. Lin scoffed.

"You don't know? Do I have to spell everything out for you?" Lin growled, barely concealing his anger.

"Look Lin, I know what I'm doing." Naru said, turning to look at Lin.

"So, does that justify intentionally putting yourself in danger?" Lin questioned. It was Naru's turn to scoff.

"Intent-..what is intentional in this? It is a haunted house." Naru said, frustrated.

"Noll! Haunted or not, it clearly hints sexual abuse. What if something goes wrong? What if the ghost tries to possess you? Can you effort to endanger our team or Mai?" Lin yelled, banging his hands on the table. Lin seemed to realize that he might have gone too far. He stood up straight and ran his fingers through his hair.

"What if something happens to you?" Lin said slowly. They both stared at each other for some time.

"I'm not Gene, Lin." Naru replied, gathering his things. "Inform the team that we will be leaving tomorrow and tell Mai to take the day off." Naru ordered, before leaving Lin alone in his office. Lin let out a sigh. If something were to happen to Noll, he could never forgive himself.

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 _ **24/05/2018, Thursday.**_


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